The Events Never Were
by My Sanctification
Summary: Three best friends are zapped into the world of Naruto. Why they're there, they don't know. There's alot of things they don't quite understand yet. How long will they be able to hide from the Akatsuki? And for what sinister plot are they hunted for?


**The Events Never Were:**

**A Naruto Fanfiction**

**Chapter Four**

A couple more months passed by. My Japanese was improving greatly. It looked as though Ebisu-sensei was right – if I'd just practiced the verbs I'd have no trouble at all. The only problem I'm having now is learning how to write the language. I could speak Japanese pretty clearly but reading it was still quite difficult for me.

On a different note, I'm doing rather well. Mizu, or Derek, was doing spectacularly. He zipped through the academy and is ready to graduate already. In the mean time, it would be another year or so before Ai could. My estimation is that she'll graduate around the same time as Konohamaru.

Iruka-sensei was very impressed with Mizu's performance. It was he who suggested that he graduate early. The only problem with that was that he couldn't be assigned to any missions until he was assigned to a jounin instructor. That would mean he'd have to wait for the next graduating class in order to have anything done about that. In the mean time, he'd have to hold a job and train on his own time.

It wasn't that I didn't make enough money to support us all but with Mizu holding a job we could buy a couple extra things for the house. We could also afford to have some things around the house could be repaired.

That was when I asked for Ebisu's advice. I wanted to know where I could find a good repairman that I could afford. His suggestion was to hire him to do it that way I know that he's doing the job right and it would be much less expensive than to hire than the other guy.

I asked him how much he wanted and he said for him to do the job first and he'll think about it. I was a little disgruntled at this but I knew he wouldn't rip me off. And to think of the job being done right instead of half-assed like most of the repair guys did in our world was a relief.

While he was doing that, I'd fixed dinner. I was waiting for Ai and Mizu to come home. Since it was Friday, Ai was out hanging out with her girlfriends. Mizu would've made his last rounds around the town looking for a job. I thought since Ebisu was there, I'd make enough for all of us. And I did. He was pleased with the meal I made.

I wasn't sure if he was smiling because he enjoyed the meal or if he was smiling because _I'd_ made it. It could've been both, I don't know. It was rare when he smiled. He seemed so hard and cold most of the time. His ultra-professionalism was kind of intimidating at times. Nervously, I smiled back at him.

Ai was sitting there in her seat, giving Ebisu a nasty glare. He'd not noticed, though. Ai didn't really like him because he seemed pretty bossy at times. She wasn't the type to take a liking to authority. The only persons she'd let give her instruction were Iruka-sensei and myself. Anyone else she considered a threat.

Mizu sat quietly, chewing slowly.

"So," I broke the silence, "How'd job hunting go, Mizu?"

He was still staring down at his plate. I think he chewed for a whole second then swallowed. He wouldn't even look at me. These days he seemed so cold. I keep wondering what he's thinking and when I ask he gives indirect answers. Meaning he was in his own little world and didn't really consider himself apart of the family unit anymore. "…Meh." He shrugged. "…No real progress."

"Just you wait. I'm pretty sure they'll call. It's Friday -- everyone's out of their offices for the weekend. I'm sure they'll call on Monday."

"Right." He took another bite of his meal, his eyes downcast onto his plate. I frowned somewhat. I wasn't sure if he was apathetic or just plain tired.

I gently kicked Ai's leg beneath the table to get her attention. She was so busy with guarding herself against Ebisu that it was a surprise when I'd kicked her.

"So, Ai – How was your day?"

"Iruka-sensei went over transformations again today." She said, the nasty look on her face dissipating.

"Oh yeah?" I smiled.

"Yeah." She smiled back at me.

"What transformation did you work on?" Ebisu cut in.

"He wanted us to make a transformation of himself." Her eyes strayed over at him. The smile diminished.

"So how did you do?" He continued on.

"I think I did rather well. He put down a passing grade for me."

"That's very good. If you ever have any questions – you know you could ask me."

"Right." She said, grumbling a little bit. Ebisu would have been the _last_ person she'd ask for help. His almost fatherly attitude toward her was making her sick. I could see it in the expression on her face. Even though she felt that way he just wouldn't let up.

"So, how do you feel about your brother graduating before you?" That got Mizu's attention. He didn't seem very interested in anything else that evening.

"I'm very proud of him," She admitted truthfully, "I wish I could have graduated with him but I guess it just isn't my time."

"You'll get there." I said, encouragingly.

"Yeah, you will." Ebisu added.

"Thanks." She said sheepishly.

After looking up at the clock, Ebisu rose from his spot. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay much longer. I actually have to get going."

I got up as well, taking our plates to the sink. "Thank you for staying for dinner, Ebisu-sensei."

"Delicious as usual," He said as I walked him to the front door. "Thank you, Nozomi."

We both nodded to each other.

"Goodnight, Nozomi-san." I leaned in toward him much closer than intended.

"Goodnight, Ebisu-sensei." And there was that smile again. It was a smile that I adored; simply because I didn't see it often.

I closed the door behind him and locked it up. When I turned around, Mizu was gone. Ai was still sitting. When our eyes met she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I raised a brow.

"The way you look at him when he leaves." She stated between giggles, "You've never noticed?"

"Noticed what?" I blinked.

"It's so obvious." She looked as though she was ready to squeal.

"What is?" I could feel myself becoming irritated.

"You've got it for _Ebisu_!" This time she actually _did_ squeal.

"Like _hell_!" I blushed furiously.

She got up from her spot and took hers and Mizu's plates to the sink. She giggled as she left the room. Mizu was probably upstairs in his room, seeing as I didn't see him in any other part of the house.

When I was in the living room I put the lamp on and sat down. I reached over for the remote that was on the end table. Once it was in hand, I turned on the radio. It played some soft jazz. This was what I usually did when I tried to wind down for the evening before bed.

After I set the remote down I picked up my word-search booklet and turned to a new page. Not even getting a word in, Ai plopped down next to me on the couch.

"So, how long has it been?" She asked slyly. Her face resembled that of a cat when she was in one of these kinds of moods.

"How long has it been since what?" I asked, confused.

"E – bi – su?" She stared at me through the slits of her eyes.

"Oh _God_, not _this_ again." I let out a soft growl from my throat, "What are you getting at?"

"How long have you had it for Ebisu?" She said bluntly.

"_Look_. I haven't _had_ it for Ebisu."

"But it's _so_ obvious. You have no idea how transparent you are."

"Not that I do – but if I _did_ – do you think he would honestly notice me like that?"

"Like _that_? _Of course_, he would!" She gave a devious grin. I knew she was up to something. "You just don't put yourself out there!"

"What do you mean, "_out_ there"?"

"When was the last time you went out on a date?" She pried.

"…What's that got to do with anything?" I blushed harder.

"When?"

"I'm not saying."

"When-when-when-when-when-when?" She got into my face.

"_Fine_! Just stop!"

"When?" She gave that winner's grin.

"I was sixteen."

"_Sixteen_?! That was _seven_ years ago!" She was clearly disappointed. "_I've_ dated more than you have."

"_Yeah_, whatever." I brought my find-a-word up to my face, trying to ignore her. She was persistent, though.

"Oh, come _on_…" She sighed. "You're not even going to _try_, are you?"

"Try _what_?" I glared at her from above the pages.

"Well, it's obvious you like him. Why not ask him out?"

"Oh, _please_, Ai." I said defensively, "Like he'd be interested, anyway. I'm his _student_ not some kind of romantic _object_."

"But wouldn't you want to be?" She asked sincerely.

I'd never really thought about it before.

What would it be like…?

.o.o.o.

It was about one a.m. when Mizu crawled out of his window. He slid down the tree as quietly as he could. By this time Ai and Nozomi would be asleep. He never let his guard down, though. Ai was a light sleeper, so he had to take extra precaution.

It was out in the middle of the dark street where he met up with Naruto. They snuck off as discreetly as possible as they could.

They headed for a restaurant that was open that late. There was a sign out front that said "Open 24 Hours". It was a different crowd there than what they were used to, but that was alright. Most of the occupants there were late drinkers coming in to sober up on coffee.

"Kee-hee-hee." Naruto snickered as he rested his head in his arms, still facing Mizu. "I can't remember the last time I was out this late."

"Me either," Mizu replied, "It feels so good to do something different."

"Yeah, really." The blonde nodded, looking around. He saw a group of people sitting at a table across the dining room. There weren't many servers walking about. It was usually dead at nighttime so they didn't need a lot of staff around. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Nothing, really. I just wanted someone to celebrate with."

"Celebrate what?" Naruto tilted his head.

"I graduated today." Mizu explained.

"You _what_?!" Naruto's eyes widened. "No way!"

"Yep." Mizu took out his hitai-ate headband and showed him. "But the bad part is…"

"What's so bad about graduating early?"

"I have to wait for a jounin to take me under his wing."

"Meaning you'll have to wait until the next graduation?"

"Yep. That's the only thing that sucks about it." Mizu frowned, then shrugged.

"So, what're you going to do in the meantime?" Naruto asked, curious.

"I'm going to continue training on my own. On my off time I've got to find a job."

"A job?" Naruto lowered his head into his arms, still gazing up at the older boy. "That sounds so boring."

"It is, but I need to do something to help Nozomi pay the bills. I haven't had enough time to do that by being in the academy. When I get a jounin instructor I can do odd jobs and make more money that way. That way it won't feel like I'm mooching off of her." Mizu pushed some of his orange-red hair behind his ear.

"Yeah, huh?" Naruto frowned some.

"Would you boys like something to drink tonight?" A female server approached them.

"We're eating too." Mizu grinned at her.

"I'm one step ahead of ya." She said, putting down the menus.

"I want a Cherry Coke." Mizu said.

"I'll take the same thing," Naruto followed behind.

"Alright. Two Cherry Cokes then. I'll be back to take your order."

"Let's celebrate! Meal's on me." Mizu nodded.

"Right!"

.o.o.o.

The next morning had come so quickly to them. It was about sunrise when Mizu had returned to the house. By the time he'd curled up in bed, Nozomi and Ai were just getting up. He knew that today he'd be out looking for a new job. A couple hours' worth of sleep wouldn't hurt, though. Lying on his bed stand was the application to the restaurant him and Naruto went to the night before. He'd pulled the blinds down on his windows so the sun wouldn't bother him so much. Now was the time to get some quality Z's in.

.o.o.o.

I sat there with my cup of coffee and the morning's newspaper. I was the first one to get up. Ai followed me down the stairs about twenty minutes after I'd gotten up. I read the local news. Nothing much was going on in the town today.

She made up her favourite cereal and sat down with me at the table.

"Where's Mizu?" She asked, spooning up her first bite.

"I think he's still in bed." I commented, flipping through the newspaper.

"Should I go wake him?"

"No. I'm pretty sure he'll be up soon."

"Right."

.o.o.o.

It wasn't that difficult working at the bookstore. The manager had assigned me to work at the register. Luckily for me, they used Arabic numbers so I could always read the price right. I had trouble with organizing the books, though. Seeing as I couldn't read Japanese it would've been hard to put them in order.

The owner was nice about it and let me stay with being cashier and occasionally carrying boxes into the store from the truck.

It was rare to find books in English, but when he found them he made sure I was the first to know. The owner knew I loved to read and often encouraged me to learn the language better so I could enjoy it twice as much.

I yawned as I sat there at the register. It was Sunday so business was kind of slow. At home it would be the time when everyone had went to church. They would've gotten out around noon or one o'clock. That was when traffic would be quite hectic. People would commute from church to either home or their favourite restaurant.

That didn't happen here. Sunday was just a slow time period. If anybody shopped they did it outside at the flea market. I leafed through a magazine while sitting there behind the counter that was next to the door. Earlier I had went through the store and dusted off the shelves. Before the place had opened up I'd taken the vacuum to it. It looked a lot better after I'd finished.

I looked up at the clock. It would be a couple hours before my shift was over. That was when someone would come in to take over my spot for the rest of the afternoon. I couldn't wait. That way I could get home and relax. I enjoyed the time by myself, listening to jazz music and doing my find-a-word puzzles. In the winter when I'd get bored with doing puzzles I'd probably take up knitting or crocheting.

Reaching into my purse, I pulled out my walk-man. I put the headset over my ears and played my Journey: Greatest Hits CD. The battery was down quite a ways, so I decided that after work I would head to the dollar store to buy another package of AA batteries.

Again, I yawned, looking around the desolate store. That was when the bells jingled. Someone had entered the store. I looked over and saw that it was Udon, one of Konohamaru's friends.

"Can I help you find something, young man?" I took off the headphones so I could hear him.

"…I'm looking for _Mighty Man_ manga."

"_Mighty Man_, huh? Do you want it in a graphic novel or in a Shonen Jump?"

"Graphic novel, please." He said, sniffling.

I opened the door from the counter top and led him across the room toward the manga section. I found it – the title was in plain English. "Which volume do you want?" I asked.

"I want volume three."

"I think we just might have it." I read the spines of each of them and found the one with a "3" on it. I pulled it out and handed it to him. I had rung it up for him and gave him his change back. " You like any other manga?"

"Yeah but nothing's like Mighty Man."

"You should come in on Friday. We're having a buy one manga get the next one half off sale."

"Awesome. I'll be here for it."

"So how's Konohamaru and the gang?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, we're doing okay," He said, "We should be graduating by next year."

"Oh really? That's nice to hear. I'm pretty sure Ai will be graduating with you guys."

"She's kind of old to be in the academy. I guess she just started late."

"Yeah she did. Tell Konohamaru-kun I said "hi", okay?" I smiled at him.

"Alright. Will do. Thanks, lady." And with that, he left the store with his Mighty Man manga.

I sat back down in my spot and put my headphones back on. I really hoped this would be a quick two hours.

.o.o.o.

At one time I was asked by Ai why I didn't join them in the academy. It was so simple as to why I didn't. I just wasn't interested in becoming a ninja. I'd make a better housewife than a ninja, really. There wasn't anything appealing about being in the military to me.

I had this thing about being bound to things. I didn't really like being in a situation that I couldn't get myself out of. I don't think I'd excel in the military anyway. What I wanted to do had something to do with writing and art. I'd make a good art teacher or a professional writer over being a ninja. I just couldn't see myself doing it.

That two hours did go by quickly. Before I knew it, I was stepping outside to hop on my bike and head to the store. I was so happy to clock out. It was so good to lead a peaceful life here in Konoha. I still wondered about a way to get home. We'd had no leads since we'd been here. What we knew so far was that there was no way home.

Even though our identities had changed I was still fearful that Akatsuki would come looking for us. When I was with them they'd spoken to me about this "Revolution" idea of theirs. They said that the first thing they were going to do had to do with world domination. Once that was set in place for them they needed me to set this "Revolution" of theirs in motion.

From what I understood first they needed me to use my abilities to fortell the outcome of each battle they'd come across during their plight for a take over and capture all the jinchuuriki. Then they needed me to convince the masses that Akatsuki only had their best interest at heart. That's when the "Revolution" would begin.

There was more to it than that, I could tell that much. I was told that if I did all this for them they'd send me, Ai and Mizu back to our world. From the way they plotted it sounded like they wouldn't have any time to send us back.

They needed me to fulfill some prophecy of theirs. That was all I knew.

I slowed my bike down once I was outside the store. The place I was at was comparable to a dollar store in my world. I parked my bike right outside the window so I could see it while shopping.

When I went in I saw Mizu at the counter handing in a sheet of paper. It had to be his application. I smiled, proud of him for job hunting. Too bad he had to wait for a jounin to come along and take him in as his student.

He noticed me right before he was about to leave.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

"Mmm." He didn't say anything, just nodded to me. Ever since we'd gotten here he'd gotten colder and colder. He wouldn't participate in family activities nor would he talk much with me. He seemed so distant these days. I don't know if it's the crowd he's with or if the ninja thing is getting to his head or what.

He barely even looked at me as he left out the door. I was kind of hurt after that. It was as though he were ignoring me. I went ahead and got what I wanted and headed out as quickly as I'd come in. I had to have a talk with him and at home. All of us were going to talk; just him, Ai and myself.

.o.o.o.

A couple days passed since then. Mizu hadn't come home. I knew he was out with Naruto. It was evening by the time I'd come back in. I was out sweeping the porches off because they'd gotten so dusty.

When I came back in I decided that it would be nice to go out to eat this evening. If Mizu ever got back we could invite him to come. I could have a good couple of dollars left to do this on. I opened my purse and found my wallet empty except for a couple of coins in change.

I put it back into the purse and went to the stairs. I yelled up for Ai. She came out of her room and down the stairs to see what was up.

"Did you steal my money?" I huffed.

"No. I don't have any reason for doing that. Why do you ask?"

"Because all of my money is gone."

"Gone?"

"Yes, Gone. It up and vanished."

"Do you think Mizu could've taken it?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"Probably. I bet he's out with Naruto blowing it right now."

Speaking of the devil – Mizu had walked in through the backdoor. I turned around to face him. He had that look on his face. He knew that I knew. He knew that I knew he stole my money.

"Why did you do it?"

"I just borrowed a couple of bucks." He said defensively.

"It's not borrowing if you don't _ask_ first." I gave him a solid stare.

"_Yeah_, well I earned it." He said.

"How so?" My eyes narrowed.

"I don't need to explain myself to you."

"Yes you do. You're taking my money and spending it on Naruto, aren't you?"

"Where I spend my money is my business."

"Don't you mean _my_ money?"

"_Yeah_, whatever." He stated. Ai stood there, not saying anything. She just listened for the longest time. Before he made it to the stairs I stopped him.

"You know you can't have a relationship with him like that," He stopped mid-foot. "Naruto is just a kid. I know the punishment in our world is pretty harsh for pedophilia. But here things are almost feudal. They could _lynch_ you for something like that."

"Like I care." He ignored anything else I had to say to him. He left for his room and came down sometime later to leave. I just couldn't get through to him. I was seething at this point. I knew he was leaving to go see Naruto again.

.o.o.o.

"Oi! Naruto!" Mizu ran to catch up to him.

"Hey, there." Naruto slowed down to turn toward him.

"I have something I've gotta ask you…" Mizu was shying up.

"Like what?"

"Do you like me?"

"What're you talking about? _Of course_ I like you. You're my friend. If I didn't like you I wouldn't hang out with you." Naruto looked confused.

"I mean… Do you like me _like that_?"

"Like what?" It wasn't getting through to the blonde.

"What I mean is," Mizu continued, "With us going out all the time – do you think we're boyfriends now?"

Naruto could feel his stomach get queasy after hearing that one. He'd never really though about it before. It was making him sick, though. "Ugh…"

"Is something wrong?" Mizu perked up.

"No… I'm fine. It's really flattering, it is," The blonde said, "But I don't like you like that. The only person I feel that way about is Sakura-chan."

That was when Mizu could feel a dark mass fill his chest. The one person he could be open with had rejected him. He was so looking forward to confessing his deepest feelings with him. But he couldn't do it now. _ Sakura, huh? _He thought dismally as he backed away.

"What's wrong, Mizu?" Naruto was oblivious to his friend's pain.

"Nothing. I'll be fine. I'm going home now." All the things he did for Naruto. Buying lunch, gifts and many other things… Everything was in vain. There was no possible way to woo the blonde now. He thought with all the attention he was giving him that he would somehow feel the same way he did. He thought for sure Naruto would reciprocate his feelings… But no…

The weight in Mizu's chest had gotten heavier. He turned away from the child and headed back to the house. He was humiliated. Mizu couldn't believe how right Nozomi was. It made him furious. And once he'd gotten home, he'd let her know what rage truly was.

.o.o.o.

"You don't have to raise your voice, Mizu. I can hear you perfectly fine." I said defensively.

"How did you know? How did you know he didn't like me like that?" Mizu pried.

"Is your Gay-dar broken, Mizu? Anyone could tell Naruto was as straight as a board."

"It's not _fair_!" Mizu cried out, pacing about the kitchen fretfully.

"I'm sorry, Mizu – but life isn't fair. If life was fair do you think I'd still be with Ricky? Yes I would be. But I'm not."

"You don't understand this pain."

"I do too understand it. Now if you'd just sit and calm down for a bit –"

"Shut up! You have no room to tell me what to do!"

"Then go to your room and take it out there."

"No. I'm disowning you from this family, Claire." He said, "_GET _OUT!"

"Um, excuse me – but my _name_ is on the _lease_! If anyone should get out it's _YOU_!"

And without another word, he shot up from his spot and left out the back door. The screen slammed behind him. I gave a short sigh and headed for the living room. Ai was listening to some music on the radio. She'd been frozen in that spot since Mizu had left the first time.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Ai."

"No, no… It's fine." From the look on her face I could tell that she wasn't okay. I sat down with her and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"It'll be okay. He'll come back…" I wasn't really sure whether or not he would come back this time.

That was when there was a knock on the door. I looked up at the clock. It would've been Ebisu showing up for tutoring. We were working on strokes for the different characters of katakana. I got up from my spot and headed toward the door.

.o.o.o.

AN: Finally! Another chapter finished. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please read and review!


End file.
